Steve Roberts' Caricatures.

Mark - caricature portrait

2011-11-21T07:22:00.004Z

A caricature portrait of my youngest son Mark.

Uma Thurman Caricature

2011-11-19T15:07:00.002Z

... for the current Caricaturama Showdown 3000.

Fisherman Caricature

2011-11-19T15:00:00.001Z

Michelin trio ...

2011-11-19T14:53:00.003Z

A trio of caricatures for use in a Power Point presentation.

A few recent commissions ...

2011-10-31T07:22:00.002Z

A few recent caricature commissions ....

David "Ducky" McCallum

2011-10-15T09:47:00.001+01:00

Michelle Yeoh Caricature got the Silver award ...

2011-09-10T17:19:00.006+01:00

My Michelle Yeoh Caricature took the Silver award over at Wittygraphy !!!!!!

Sting Caricature

2011-09-08T14:27:00.005+01:00

A caricature of the singer/song writer/actor Sting for this weeks Caricaturama Showdown 3000 contest.

Gary Oldman Caricature

2011-09-07T10:02:00.008+01:00

A caricature of the fantastic actor Gary Oldman as the psychotic Stansfield from the movie Leon ... one of my favourite films. This is my entry for the Wittygraphy Gary Oldman caricature contest.

Jeremy Kyle Caricature

2011-08-30T10:16:00.004+01:00

A caricature of daytime tv 'chat show host' Jeremy Kyle ... the UK's answer to Jerry Springer !!!!

Christopher Walken Caricature

2011-08-25T06:49:00.003+01:00

A caricature of the actor Christopher Walken for the Caricaturama Showdown 3000 contest.

Michelle Yeoh Caricature

2011-08-22T15:01:00.003+01:00

A caricature of the actress Michelle Yeoh for this months Wittygraphy caricature contest.

Anniversary Caricature

2011-08-18T19:23:00.006+01:00

A recent gift caricature commissioned by the lady in the picture to celebrate her and her partner meeting while on a camping holiday.

Whoopi Goldberg Caricature

2011-07-30T06:13:00.002+01:00

Morgan Freeman Caricature

2011-07-28T11:53:00.005+01:00

Dinner with George

2011-07-27T15:59:00.002+01:00

Wedding Caricature

2011-07-27T15:53:00.003+01:00

Amy Winehouse

2011-07-25T15:30:00.005+01:00

1983 - 2011

This is a caricature I did of Amy Winehouse a few years back ... her recent death at 27 years of age is nothing short of tragic ... a sad time for her family, friends and fans.

Comic Football Issue 1 cover artwork

2011-06-30T06:58:00.009+01:00

The Final Artwork

The finished comic (with a few more changes)

Cover development

Earlier this year I was hired to paint the cover art for the launch issue of Comic Football. The concept was a parody of the opening couch scene of the show The Simpsons featuring Premiership League football players.

It was great fun to do and we made quite a few changes along the way but the final artwork turned out brilliantly and I'm very proud of the result.

Just one More thing .....

2011-06-29T15:07:00.004+01:00

Peter Falk 1927 - 2011

Corey Taylor Roars ...

2011-06-21T14:08:00.004+01:00

This is my rendition of Slipknot and Stone Sour vocalist Corey Taylor an amazing vocal talent from beautiful, melodic ballads to throat rupturing roars of rage, this bloke can do it all.

I know this won't be everyone's cup of tea but he's a subject that I've wanted to paint for a while, I'm a massive fan and I just couldn't resist that huge neck.

Thanks for your time.

Classroom of Cows and others ...

2011-06-17T07:19:00.003+01:00

'He has a passion for amphibians, notably frogs ...'

'He has a passion for giraffes and flamingos and a dislike for giant pandas...'

'She used to be a military vet for the american army. she has a passion for chickens and keeps her own cornsnakes ...'

'He has a passion for dairy cattle and is also an expert in data analysis...'

Testimonial

'We recieved them in the post yesterday and they are brilliant. We gave them to the tutors today and they loved them too, an excellent present. Thank you very much.'

More commissions ...

2011-06-03T11:10:00.006+01:00

Retirement gift caricature

Birthday Gift caricature

Birthday caricature commission

2011-05-23T14:56:00.002+01:00

Testimonial:

Absolutely, unbelievably B-R-I-L-L-I-A-N-T!!!!!!
Love it.
You don’t realise how superbly you’ve captured his character as well as his features…………..he is 70 and has a massive TO DO list for the next year , including climbing 10 mountains, visiting 10 islands etc.
You are a genius…thankyou!

"Well, that's another fine mess you've gotten me into ..." Oliver Hardy Caricature

2011-05-19T06:30:00.005+01:00

Norvell Hardy aka 'Babe' aka Oliver Hardy. While I was looking for a reference image for this picture I watched a Laurel and Hardy short on You Tube ... and then another ... and another. I really got caught up in the ... ahem ... "research" I had forgotten what absolute comedy gold Laurel and Hardy were, complete genius.

Celebrity caricature - Stephen King

2011-05-14T08:47:00.004+01:00

I was literally doing back flips when I saw the subject matter of this weeks Caricaturama showdown 3000 on facebook: Mr Stephen King. I am a massive Stephen King fan, I have pretty much everything he's ever written and loads of books about him and his craft, I'm sure that if he published his weekly shopping list I'd run out and buy it . I'm not quite in the Annie Wilkes (Misery) area but I don't think I'm far off.

When I was about 10 or 11 years old I came across a library book that my Dad was reading, it was just sitting on the side, no dust jacket just a dark blue, scruffy looking hardback book with the words Stephen King and 'Salems Lot' on the spine in gold lettering. I picked the book up,it was not mine and nothing to do with me I was already on dodgy ground. It was big and heavy, I opened it ... page 102, The Marsten House, Danny Glick and others and read ...

I was terrified and thrilled, wanting to throw it away and read the entire thing all at the same time, I had no idea such things existed, Christ we were doing 'Janet and John rub noses' or something similar at school ... that was it, I was an immediate fan and as soon as I was able to talk my Mum into letting me join the adult library I became an avid reader and still am to this day. If you've never read his work, go out to your libary or local book shop and pick up a copy of Salems Lot or The Shining and read ... but keep the lights on, you don't want the shadows or the darkness creeping up on you ... because they do, was that a noise outside the window?

Stephen King sketch

Misha Collins as Castiel

2011-05-10T08:55:00.004+01:00

This a caricature of Misha Collins in his role as the angel Castiel in U.S. tv show Supernatural.

Personalised gift caricature - 'The running man'

2011-05-09T06:06:00.005+01:00

A recent gift caricature commission of a gentleman who is the member of a running club. The spec for the caricature was simple "...tongue out. Maybe a shoelace undone, basically, when he runs, he always looks knackered!" and this is the result.

Celebrity caricature - David Letterman

2011-05-05T08:46:00.003+01:00

This months entry to the Wittygraphy competition; U.S. chat show host David Letterman.

Celebrity caricature: Natalie Portman

2011-04-22T12:24:00.004+01:00

I've noticed a lot of caricature artists posting work on various art sites and blogs that they have created for Caricaturama Showdown 3000 on Facebook and I've decided to take part myself. Now, I am something of a Facebook virgin, I do have an account, I even created a page for my caricatures all under the persuasion of friends and family, the problem is that I don't know what the hell I'm doing and to be honest ... I'm not quite sure that I get it. It just seems like a lot of random comments and abbreviations ... LOL ... OMG, etc, etc. Oh well, nothing ventured and all that.

By the way this weeks Caricaturama Showdown 3000 subject is Natalie Portman and this is my attempt.

Martti Ahtisaari caricature

2011-04-21T16:04:00.002+01:00

This my entry for this months Wittygraphy contest. This fine looking fella' is Martti Ahtisaari who, and I quote "is a Finnish politician, the tenth President of Finland (1994–2000), Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work". Admittedly I have never heard of him but he was good fun to work on.

Thanks for looking in.

Celebrity caricatures - Matt Smith as Dr Who

2011-04-19T09:56:00.005+01:00

To celebrate the return of Dr Who next week here's a painting of the current Doctor, Matt Smith. I originally posted the drawing for this painting way back in August 2009 with the intention of painting a Dr Who timeline which I never got around to (sorry) I really will try to find the time to do it, I think it would make a great painting but for now here's the 11th Doctor and his beloved Tardis.

Celebrity caricatures - Brian Cox

2011-04-09T11:44:00.003+01:00

A caricature of the actor Brian Cox. I haven't gone for the high polished detailed look, I've tried to use quick broad brush strokes to keep the image looking like a painting.

Caricature Classic TV Moment - The Office Dance WIP

2011-04-04T05:58:00.004+01:00

This caricature TV moment stars Ricky Gervais as David Brent from the original BBC version of 'The Office'. It's still very much a work in progress and I'll post the finished version later this week (time allowing). I rewatched 'The Office' earlier this year on DVD and enjoyed it immensely, Brent's (Gervais) 'dance off' is quite possibly the most cringe worthy moment in TV history ... absolute comedy gold. If you havent' seen it there is a clip available to view here.

Wedding invitations cartoon

2011-04-02T08:14:00.003+01:00

I was asked to do a quickie job earlier this week for a wedding card. A cartoon, cute and simple design of the happy couple, having recently been told that my caricatures sometimes are a little sinister I jumped at the chance to do 'cute'. I've never really done cartoon work before and I must admit I quite enjoyed it and would be quite happy to do more of this style.

Gift Caricature examples

2011-03-29T12:32:00.003+01:00

A couple of recent gift caricatures commissions.

Celebrity caricature - Bob Dylan

2011-03-12T10:08:00.002Z

A caricature of Robert Allen Zimmerman better known as Mr Bob Dylan. I wanted this caricature to be an actual painting not smooth perfect rendering just quick brush strokes, I'm quite pleased with the result.

Caricature Movie Moment - 'JAWS' - finished version.

2011-03-10T08:42:00.005Z

'Slow ahead. I can go slow ahead. Come on down here and chum some of this s**t.'

This is the finished version of my first 'Caricature movie moment' from the amazing film 'Jaws'. I kept this really nice and loose, more cartoony than my usual work, I really wanted it to be a fun piece.

I also have a feeling that movie cells run up and down not side to side as I had it in the WIP version I posted last month.

There will definitely be more of these ... any suggestions?

Gift caricature example, something a little different ...

2011-03-07T09:19:00.003Z

For a while I've been trying to come up of a way to get all of the elements that people ask for into a gift caricature and I've had an idea that I think really works. What I've come up with is a main focal caricature of the individual and then numerous images around the outside to signify the different points about them which I've done as photographs to show snapshots of their character and individual events.

I think the testimonial for this caricature tells me that I go this one right:

Testimonial -

'Steve, you’re a genius! :) Myself & my colleagues absolutely love it!-you've really captured J’s cheeky character! I gave you a tough brief & was wondering how you could squeeze in all the strange & varied elements – but the photographs are a nice bold way & don’t clutter things up too much.'

Gift caricature examples and testimonials

2011-03-07T09:09:00.002Z

'Hi Steve, brilliant! Thank you; we are all really chuffed with it :)' - M.C.

'It is brilliant! He will love it.' - D.

Caricature Movie Moment - 'Jaws' - WIP

2011-02-26T09:09:00.005Z

I love films and I've been toying with various ideas of showing 'classic' movie moments and this is what I've finally come up with. This scene is from the movie Jaws just before the classic line "You're gonna need a bigger boat ... " and I've framed it to look like an actual movie cell duplicating the image to the right and left.

The main painting is not finished yet so this is a WIP but I'm really pleased with the concept and I think I may be painting a lot more of these in the future. My mind has now wandered over to other ideas such as classic sporting moments, classic tv moments and so on. I just wanted to do something a little different.

If you have any classic movie moment suggestions please let me know.

Celebrity caricature - Marilyn manson watercolour caricature

2011-02-25T07:12:00.002Z

I was looking through my old art work folders earlier this week and came across a folder of watercolour caricatures that I painted around about 2007.It's interesting to look back at your old artwork to see how your style has adapted over time ... and doesn't time fly? I have work dating back to the mid eighties when I was 16 or 17 and it seems like yesterday that I was working on the pieces ... It was nearly 25 years ago!!!!

I posted this caricature of Marilyn Manson on Deviant Art in 2007 and its been most successful piece on there to date receiving over 9,000 views and as been downloaded 6,416 times!!!

More of my watercolours can be viewed in my portfolio on Wittygraphy for those of you interested.

Celebrity Caricature - Jeff Bridges

2011-02-23T13:35:00.003Z

A caricature of actor Jeff Bridges currently starring in the movie True Grit. You may notice from the stepo by step process thatin the original reference photograph he was holding his Oscar but as the picture progressed I decided to remove the statuette and just go for a more relaxed pose.

Celebrity Caricature - Leslie Nielsen

2011-02-17T14:43:00.003Z

This is a caricature of comedy genius Leslie Nielsen who sadly died in November of last year. Interestingly remembered by one iconic line ... 'I am serious ... and don't call me Shirley'.

Celebrity Caricature - Karl Pilkington

2011-02-16T15:50:00.004Z

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of listening to Karl Pilkington you really are missing out. He first step onto the ladder of fame came when he became the producer of the Ricky Gervais show on XFM radio London, and when, on one of the shows broadcasts, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant asked him a question on live radio and were totally blown away by his response and the legend that is Karl Pilkington began.

The radio show was followed by the subsequent record breaking podcast series and HBO animated television series The Ricky Gervais Show and most recently Sky one' s fantastic series 'An Idiot Abroad' which I absolutely loved and has made me a complete junkie for all things Gervais,Merchant and Pilkington. I think I must be the only person in the U.K. who hasn't seen the Original BBC series 'The Office' or 'Extras' nor any of Ricky's stand up shows ... I'm working my way through the back catalogue as we speak.

Ricky Gervais often describes him as 'the funniest man alive in Britain today' and often describes him 'having a head like a f*****g orange' due to its perfectly spherical shape couple this with Karls legendary love for all things monkey you have the inspiration for my Karl Pilkington caricature above.

For more information on Karl Pilkington please click here.

Celebrity Caricature - Justin Bieber

2011-02-14T14:07:00.003Z

A little something for the ladies on this Valentines Day here's a new caricature of teen music sensation Justin Bieber. Not content with taking the music world by storm I believe he's now
about to hit our movie screens with his film 'Never say never'.

Celebrity caricature - Karl Malden

2011-02-10T09:07:00.007Z

This is a caricature painted of american actor Karl Malden painted for this months caricature contest on Wittygraphy ... enjoy.

Gift caricature

2011-02-08T16:23:00.004Z

Gift caricatures

2011-01-27T09:46:00.003Z

A few more examples of gift caricatures, the top one is a couple of years old but I don't think that I've ever posted it before ... enjoy.

Portrait commission

2011-01-27T09:35:00.003Z

This cute litte fellow is one of three children that I've recently painted as a commission piece, if you would like to see more please click here.

More gift caricature examples ...

2011-01-19T06:32:00.004Z

Pete Postlethwaite Caricature

2011-01-08T07:13:00.003Z

A quick caricature of the actor Pete Postlethwaite who sadly died earlier this week.

More gift caricatures examples

2011-01-08T07:07:00.007Z

Here's another batch of examples of my gift caricatures covering a number of subjects from fishing caricatures to film caricature scenes in this case Star Wars.

Chuck Berry Caricature

2011-01-04T14:40:00.004Z

Here's a caricature of a young Chuck Berry. The man himself was taken ill on New Years Day while perfoming at a concert in Chicago, amazingly still rockin' 'n' rollin' at the age of 84, here's wishing him a speedy recovery.

"Do you do dogs ?"

2010-12-30T07:06:00.007Z

A strange question I'm sure you'll agree but one I've been asked a time or two recently.

Firstly a slightly belated 'Merry Christmas' to everyone, sorry I've just been so busy plus I'm never, ever prepared for Christmas anyway,it always seems to take me by surprise.

This will be my final post of 2010 and I'm very curious to see what 2011 will bring. I thought that I would post some examples of dog portraits that I have been asked to paint, something different and very enjoyable to work on ... enjoy.

A Happy New Year to one and all.

Gift caricature examples.

2010-12-04T06:27:00.002Z

Here are few more examples of recent gift caricatures that I've painted for clients. They really are a great gift idea (I know I'm biased) and can be used to commemorate a funny situation or event, they don't just have to be for Christmas, birthdays etc. We've all heard the adage 'a picture is worth a thousand words'.

Recent Commissions ...

2010-11-18T18:59:00.005Z

Recent portraits ...

2010-10-21T10:41:00.003+01:00

Danny Trejo caricature Sketch

2010-10-19T11:15:00.002+01:00

I've not posted anything for a while (sorry) here's a quickie caricature of Danny Trejo.

Ronnie James Dio Caricature

2010-09-27T12:01:00.005+01:00

A sneak peak at a caricature that I'm currently working on. This is "Rock God" Ronnie James Dio who sadly died earlier this year.
If you like your music a little louder and heavier than the norm, I highly recommend having a listen to his Dio album 'Holy Diver' a classic in the genre.

Tony Blair - A Journey - Portrait and Caricature Combination

2010-09-15T15:09:00.013+01:00

A Journey - Tony Blair Portrait and Caricature combination.

I wanted to complete a piece that would combine a caricature and a portrait. I used the idea of the book A Journey by Tony Blair to try and formulate my idea.

Firstly I painted the caricature version of Tony Blair which I posted earlier this week on it's own. I then painted an separate portrait of Mr. Blair using the cover of the book as reference and then combined the two and distorted the angle to give me the look I wanted to reflect the cover of the book. You can see the full portrait of Tony Blair here.

Detail from Tony Blair Portrait

It was a lot of work which I hope resulted in a good strong piece for my portfolio.

Tony Blair Caricature

2010-09-12T09:17:00.003+01:00

Apparently reported as the best selling autobiography ever by book chain Waterstones Tony Blair seems to have created something of a stir with his recently published memoirs entitled 'A Journey' any likely he looks so happy.

Here's my painting of Tony Blair to commemorate this momentous feat, there is actually more to come involving this caricature (which is purely a self promotion piece) all will be revealed later in the week.

I'll resist any comments revolving my views on Mr Blair or politics ... now where in this book does he apologize for the Iraq War ?

The finished portrait - Gemma

2010-09-11T16:33:00.003+01:00

My completed portrait of my stepdaughter Gemma reflecting the various stages of her life and most importantly one happy wife whom I painted the picture for.

Completed portraits

2010-09-11T16:21:00.004+01:00

Gemma aged 2

Gemma aged 10

Gemma aged 27

Above are the 3 individual completed portraits that I have painted of my step daughter Gemma from various stages in her life. This initially came as a request from my wife who wanted a picture to capture her daughters life as one image, not knowing how the compilation would work I decided to paint each portrait individually to start with the intention of playing around with the combined image later.

Sherlock Holmes Caricature

2010-08-19T10:05:00.005+01:00

I thoroughly enjoyed the BBC's recent updated version of Sherlock Holmes starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr Watson. A much too short run of three one and a half hour episodes with the final episode leaving the viewers in a state of suspense with one hell of a cliffhanger, well worth a watch if you missed it.
Here is my caricature of Benedict Cumberbatch as the great detective Sherlock Holmes.

James Hetfield Caricature

2010-08-02T06:06:00.004+01:00

This is the finished painting from a sketch I did of James Hetfield from the group Metallica. The overall pose in the reference photograph was a little tongue in cheek to start with and I exaggerated the expression and overall look of the caricature more than I would normally. I think it works ... what do you think?

James Hetfield Caricature

The original sketch

A recent gift caricature commission

2010-07-21T05:37:00.003+01:00

This is a recent gift caricature that I painted for 'Trevor' who was leaving his job. He worked at the local 6th Form College and the gift caricature was from the Psychology department. I really enjoyed doing this painting and had fun with some of the things/ideas that I was asked to include;'real bottles of whiskey, a tomato plant (the love of gardening) and a sarcastic, funny leaving message. I also put in a couple of little in-jokes crossing over the gardening with Psychology in the titles of the 2 books.

'Trevor' sketch

A new portrait ...

2010-07-04T06:49:00.005+01:00

Earlier this year I painted a portrait of David Tennant, purely as a practise piece, to get me back into the flow after a long absence. I really enjoyed doing the painting and at the time mentioned that I would be doing more.

This is a preview of one of three portraits I'm doing of my step daughter Gemma for my wife, each portrait from a different part of her life - as a baby,a young girl and as she is today.

Metallica - James Hetfield Sketch

2010-06-24T06:32:00.002+01:00

Metallica's James Hetfield !!!!

Wayne Rooney Caricature

2010-05-27T06:54:00.003+01:00

As world Cup fever is about to grip the world I thought it would be an appropriate time to paint Mr Wayne Rooney.

Keith Myatt Caricature

2010-05-25T06:34:00.005+01:00

This is my friend Keith Myatt, ceramicist by day and wrestler by night. Keith has been wrestling for over 20 years and has met and wrestled some of the top names in the industry (Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Jake 'the snake' Roberts etc etc) and as old age is catching up with him (nearly 51) he's now also moving over into the world of acting.

Don't let the scary, hard man pose fool you the blokes got a heart of gold and a great friendly personality but be warned if you ever meet him, and he corners you ... he can talk a glass eye asleep and for the love of God, never, ever leave any chocolate eclairs lying around ;)

For more on Keith and what he does follow the link - Keith Myatt.

Motorheads Lemmy Kilmister

2010-05-18T06:25:00.004+01:00

I have always been a huge music fan particularly in the rock/metal genre and in my teens Motorhead were one of my favourite groups. Born in my home city of Stoke on Trent Lemmy is one of Rocks true legendary characters and a true "Beer drinker and Hellraiser" that's still going strong well into his sixty's and not an ounce of a healthy life style in sight.

Johnny Depp Caricature

2010-04-27T07:02:00.001+01:00

The General Election ...

2010-04-22T06:58:00.004+01:00

The general election is rapidly approaching and everyone is yearning for us to vote for them, this seems the perfect time to do a caricature of David Cameron the leader of the Conservative Party.

David Tennant as Dr Who.

2010-04-05T11:34:00.003+01:00

I painted this portrait using Photoshop. its been a long time since I have painted or drawn anything so this was something of a practice piece. I must admit, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out and I think that portraits are something that I might try to do more of in the future.

Dr Who

2009-08-06T06:39:00.007+01:00

I'm currently working on a Dr Who timeline picture (amongst other things),here's a few of the preliminary sketches for the characters... enjoy.

The 3rd Doctor - Jon Pertwee

The 9th Doctor - Christopher Eccleston

The 11th Doctor - Matt Smith

Dirty Harry - Clint Eastwood.

2009-05-24T09:15:00.004+01:00

Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

2009-04-14T19:31:00.005+01:00

I can't believe that it's mid April and this is my first post of the year. I have been busy, busy, busy. Anyway here's Dr. Hannibal Lecter with someone around his mouth.

Pictures of your loved ones ....

2008-11-13T05:58:00.007Z

"Hi Steve - Received the caricature today – absolutely brilliant. Thank you so so much! My dad is going to love it!!"
Lorraine

"Hi Steve, - Just a quick note to say thank you for the speed in which you produced my caricature, my boyfriend loved it, as did I, Thanks again"

Juliette

Stoke City F.C. - Ricardo Fuller

2008-10-03T06:52:00.001+01:00

Stoke City F.C. - Ricardo Fuller

Amanda & Nik . . .

2008-09-26T05:51:00.004+01:00

"Thanks Steve - Picture is awesome, I love it & Nik will too. It's perfect. Thank you so much. All the best."
Amanda

More from Stoke City F.C.

2008-08-31T07:16:00.004+01:00

I've not posted anything for a while, this is another Stoke City related picture a 'quickie' John Rudge Stoke City's Director of Football and.....

.....Stoke City F.C. player - new signing Dave Kitson.

The Stoke City work may be leading to something very exciting and some of them are actually being shown in a local art gallery to advertise and celebrate Stoke City F.C. along with work from other artists and potential backing from the club itself.

It's early days and meetings are going on between the gallery and the football club at the moment so it's a fingers crossed situation but I'll keep you posted.

Stoke City FC - Ryan Shawcross

2008-05-29T12:06:00.002+01:00

The latest of the Stoke City football players caricatures Ryan Shawcross.

Stoke City FC - Liam Lawrence

2008-05-22T11:20:00.004+01:00

This is the step by step process for my painting of Stoke Citys Liam Lawrence...

...and the finished product.

Stoke City Football Clubs Premier League Promotion

2008-05-14T06:07:00.005+01:00

There is a very positive atmosphere in the air in Stoke on Trent nowadays. The home football team, Stoke City, have just been promoted to the Premier league. Now admittedly I am not a football fan but it has been nigh on impossible not to get caught up in the euphoria that this has created and it is a much needed moral boost for the city.

With this in mind I am creating caricature portraits of the team to celebrate this momentous occasion starting with - Stoke City Manager Tony Pullis.

Heath Ledger tribute

2008-05-08T06:39:00.005+01:00

A small tribute piece dedicated to the actor Heath Ledger who died earlier this year - tragic.it's not quite finished yet but it's getting there.

Gordon Brown

2008-04-30T14:10:00.003+01:00

Not posted anything for a while seem to be so busy. My website is very nearly ready and should launch next week but to get into the mood for tomorrows local election I've gone all political and painted a caricature of the current PM - Gordon Brown.

May I just add what a great job he's doing (add sarcastic tone when you read that bit.)

Philip Glenister

2008-04-09T13:10:00.005+01:00

A while back I did this caricature of Philip Glenister the star of 'Life on Mars' and 'Ashes to ashes' shown on the BBC here in the UK.His character in these shows - DCI Gene Hunt - is fantastic.Anyway,in a bid to get my work out and about I e-mailed his official website with a request to post my caricature (and maybe a link to my blog) on the website.

I got a reply on Sunday from Gareth the website editor who wrote "I have to say that your caricatures have gone down well! We at the website like them and Philip - approves of his ... I'll put it in the miscellaneous pics gallery with a link."

I am now proudly having the caricature displayed on Philip Glenisters official website ... fantastic.

I've put a link to Philips website - it contains various clips from the two shows I've mentioned for those of you who've never seen them.

National Caricature Network (NCN)

2008-04-03T08:33:00.006+01:00

Self portrait for NCN profile page

A little over a week ago I joined the National Caricature Network.I thought this really did seem to be something to be a part of.

It was the best thing that I could ever have done - within 2 days of joining I had seen and replied to an advertisement for a caricature artist at the 'Alton Towers' theme park here in the U.K. on closer inspection I noticed that the advert had been posted last year in time for this season and presumed it had now been filled.So I sent a email to the owner of the caricature consession (Mick Hollinworth) introducing myself and asking if a vacancy came up again would he consider me for the position.

Get this ... he only e mailed me back!!!

Although there is no vacancy at the moment he wants to use me as holiday cover etc(I live very near Alton Towers)and one of the artists that works on the consession had offered to come and see me.I spent yesterday afternoon chatting with Mike Carlon,a great guy and a great caricaturist, who showed me the style and approach for live caricatures.I now need to train my little socks off to get used to live style caricaturing and keep Mick and Mike updated.All being well this is the start point of my new career,I have a foot in the door and as long as I impress with my work hopefully, one day I will be working full seasons at Alton Towers as a live caricaturist.

All thanks to the NCN...Cheers guys!

Work,work,work

2008-03-28T07:01:00.005Z

I'm continuing to work hard at my portfolio (and loving it).I think the critical thing is to get my showcase work together and then launch the website.I don't see ant point in submitting a half cocked website with little or nothing to look at.Folks need a gallery to view in order to see that I catch a good likeness before they'll commission me to do work for them.

At the same time I'm trying to learn how to utilize the Internet and get me out there.People need to see my work.A very positive move yesterday was becoming a member of the National Caricature Network (NCN) I think that this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Odd thing this Internet business.A very useful tool but not of you don't know how to use it.I have a feeling that I'm talking to myself most of the time...no change there then.

Anyhow here's a couple of caricatures for you...

ELVIS

JACK NICHOLSON

Beck.

2008-03-20T06:19:00.003Z

I've been playing around with all sorts of ideas to make my stuff original e.g. you always see pictures of people proudly holding up their caricature so I had an idea of having the caricature holding up the photograph or a double barrel caricature called "now and then" with two paintings of the same face on one page,one as a cutey pie kiddy and another of what that person looks like today.I don't know if I need gimmicks,just continue with good quality work.

For now I've done this painting of my youngest daughter Becky,it's a great caricature but shows how important the reference picture can be.This is a good photo,but it fails to capture the character of the subject.Beck is a loon,everything is funny to her.She is a whirlwind of giggles.This 'staged' picture fails to capture that.

More stuff...

2008-03-19T09:46:00.006Z

"How to look good naked."
UK TV Fashion Guru - Gok Wan

"Sweeney Todd" - Johnny Depp

Dr Who - David Tennant

Fear and Loathing...

2008-03-19T09:07:00.001Z

This was an interesting piece.It was actually a request from a guy on Deviant Art who really loves the film.I find the problem with Johnny Depp is,like myself (ahem), he is virtually perfect. Add to this the fact that he rarely looks like himself in films makes him difficult to caricature so for this one I just caricatured the whole scene.It came out well and I enjoyed doing it (thanks Mark).

As for the film "Fear and loathing in Las Vegas" I know my brother and I watched it but,as ever,illegal amounts of alcohol had been consumed and I don't have a bloody clue what it was about ... same happened with Donnie Darko (Gaz????)

Stuff to see...

2008-03-18T13:13:00.002Z

OZZY OSBOURNE

MARILYN MANSON

BORAT

SAMUEL L. JACKSON

DANIEL CRAIG (JAMES BOND)

DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister)

2008-03-18T11:49:00.001Z

I've just finished this one.
I loved "Life On Mars" (Jury's still out on "Ashes to Ashes" I'll reserve judgement 'til I've seen the final episode) and Gene Hunt has now become something of an icon...bring back 70's policing I say.

Winehouse

2008-03-17T12:48:00.001Z

My first post went well!Kept having dips in power and my computer shut down.It was my intention to upload a couple more examples.Oh well!

Here's a caricature that I did recently using photoshop and my graphic tablet - Amy Winehouse .

I always thought that doing digital art was a bit like cheating but I finally gave in and got myself a tablet,more out of curiosity then anything else.

I love it.I've had it for roughly a month now and have taken to it like a duck to water and I've completed 13 caricatures so far the latest of which I will post later.

For those of you that don't know,there is nothing done for me by using photoshop,instead of the conventional method of painting i now pick up my digital paintbrush and dip it into my digital paints and paint on my digital paper.If you can't do it physically,you can't do it digitally.

Anyway,work to do...

Brucie bonus....

2008-03-15T17:43:00.002Z

I have no idea where or how to start on my quest to become a freelance caricature artist.But the obvious starting point is to create a good quality portfolio.

I sit in awe of the talents of guys like Jason Seiler,Jan Op De Beeck,Joe Bluhm,Sebastian (wow) Krueger etc and if I can achieve half of what these guys are capable of then I will be happy. But what can a missing fingered, self taught computer illiterate do?

Well I can do this....can I introduce you to Mr Bruce Willis.